Join us in celebrating the freshest California extra virgin olive oils at Golden State Olive Oils, a tasting event taking place over two Saturday afternoons—Apr. 6 and Apr. 13, from noon to 3pm—at Rockridge Market Hall. Meet the growers, millers, makers and experts and taste the difference between their oils to find the best bottle for your taste and cooking preferences. This is a rare opportunity to learn directly from the people who make some of the best oils across the state.

April 6: Goldridge Organic (Sebastopol, CA), Bondolio (Winters, CA), Séka Hills (Capay Valley, CA)
April 13: Olivaia's OLA (Lindsay, CA), Frantoio Grove (San Martin, CA), S.C.O.L.A. (Sonoma Coast, CA), Olive Truck (San Francisco, CA)

Bondolio: Karen and Malcolm Bond's journeys to Sicily and Southern Italy sparked the couple's interest in olive oil production. In Italy, she studied organic farming practices and production methods that she employs today to make Bondolio extra virgin olive oil. Based in Winters, California, in the San Joaquin Valley, Bondolio produces a Sicilian estate olive oil blend featuring Nocellara, Cerasuola and Biancolilla varietals.

Gold Ridge Organic Farms: Gold Ridge's founder Brooke Hazen was inspired to start his organic farm in Sebastopol by "the grace and elegance of the olive tree." Seventy acres of Gold Ridge's organic farm is dedicated to growing olives and they mill their own olive oil within hours of harvest, meaning their oils are extremely fresh and high in antioxidants. Gold Ridge produces four olive oil blends: Arbequina, Tuscan, Minerva and Picholine. 

Séka Hills: The Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation owns and operates the Séka Hills olive mill and tasting room in the Capay Valley of California's Yolo County. With estate-grown olives from their 25,000-acre farm, Séka Hills produces premium single-varietal extra virgin olive oils, including Arbequina, Frantoio, Taggiasca, Picual and their newest offering, Coratina. 

Olivaia's OLA: Olivaia's Ola, is a small batch, award-winning producer of estate grown extra virgin olive oil in Lindsay, California. Their Block X is a 100+ year old grove with many different cultivars, including unique rootstock used in the earliest Californian experiments for olive oil and table olive production.

Frantoio Grove: Frantoio Grove is run by father and son, Jeff and Patrick Martin, 6th and 5th generation California farmers. They planted their first olive trees in 2005 in the town of San Martin, located in the foothills of the Santa Cruz mountains. The majority of their 30-acre grove is dedicated to growing Frantoio, a Tuscan olive cultivar the Martins selected for its characteristic pungency. Frantoio Grove is certified organic and Regenerative Organic Certified®️.

S.C.O.L.A.: Sonoma Coast Olives Lemons Apples, LLC offers a premium extra virgin olive oil produced from Tuscan cultivars grown on the Sonoma coast.  Laurie Scola and Robert Petersen manage the grove with dedication to best organic practices to encourage a balanced, fruity flavor, while maximizing the health of the trees, soil, and natural environment. The olives are harvested by hand, and S.C.O.L.A. is USDA Certified Organic by CCOF. 

Olive Truck: Sam Bayraktar's mobile mill brings the equipment to the grove instead of the other way around. After finding success in Turkey, Sam brought his olive truck—outfitted with state-of-the-art technology—to California. Now, Olive Truck is able to travel to the far reaches of the state to mill diverse cultivars and produce unique extra virgin olive oils.